Mobilegeddon: Google Updates Mobile Search Results

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

LINKEDIN

Google introduced an algorithm change that went into affect on April 21st.

This change affects users searching from smartphones and tablets, resulting in mobile-friendly sites displaying at the top of search results, while sites that aren’t mobile friendly will get demoted. This update doesn’t affect desktop searches.

Is this Mobilegeddon?

Hardly. Google’s algorithm changes seem pretty intuitive to me. Naturally if you’re accessing a site via your phone, you don’t want a clunky site that is impossible to navigate and takes forever to load. Most websites that were built in the past year or two are created with responsive design- meaning that they adjust to be viewed on desktops, phones, and tablets.

As Robert Hof at Forbes points out, “better mobile websites are likely to lead to more “conversions,” whether that’s purchases or visits to a physical store. That’s why Google ad folks must be overjoyed at all the attention on the algorithm change, even if the nickname doesn’t thrill them.”

The change could be bad news for sites that aren’t mobile friendly. TechCrunch reports that 44% of Fortune 500 web sites failed the mobile-friendly test. You can test your website here.